I returned to the Truman Brewery for a second week of photography shows from universities across the country, and was pleased to discover so much interesting work that I’m going to split this review in two.
A modern Metropolis by Anna Thompson made symmetrical patterned monoliths from the inside and outsides of apartment blocks. I particularly love the decorative red toasters. This was the first image of this type that I saw, and it quickly became apparent that this re-imagining of the built environment is an emerging trend…
At the University of Northampton Beverley Handforth explored the effects of coastal erosion, embedding salt crystals in her images to create a 3D effect.
Photography by Liza Campion explored our relationship to scars on the landscape and the human body, collaging the two together to create oddly beautiful images.
At the University of Central Lancashire Jonny Boxall is a man obsessed with parks. Whilst strolling around their exhibition he came up to ask if I would like my portrait taken – what an innovative idea to get guests involved in the whole experience. You can see some of the images they took here.
Wayne Daniel returned to analogue techniques to create an entire fictitious history of animal discoveries centred around a character called Dr Walter Verbogden.
Adriana Mitrus took peculiarly alien photographs that document the strange rituals of women.
In the Vantage exhibition many students from UCLAN explored the crossover between static photography and film, an increasingly important concept in the modern realm. All round I was very impressed with the promotional interactivity of this course, which has a great group website leading to copious professional individual websites, a blog and several twitter feeds on the go. Other universities take note!
Downstairs I explored the work of Falmouth University: Migration by Madeleine Kimberley juxtaposed birds with, erm, birds, in a critique on the simulated histories of gallery culture.
Beautiful portraiture by Megan Roberts questioned traditional gender stereotypes in a classic painterly style.
India Pocock‘s naked boys engrossed in technology are surreal and strangely uncomfortable to look at: raising issues around relatively recent conditions that have fast become normalised… and ancient ones that are now frowned upon.
At the University of Derby multiple award winning graduate photographer Gemma Pepper had created stunning images. The painterly perfection of Gaol questions the frailty of this reconstructed space in The Galleries of Justice in the Museum of Nottingham. Her twitter feed informs me that she did well out of the shows: with an offer to photograph a fashion label. I’d like to see how she tackles this.
Josh Kemp-Smith takes photos of ruins using long exposure at night: creating eerily beautiful portraits of our powerful industrial past.
At Swansea Metropolitan University David Alexander Smith layered multiple exposures on top of each other, combining images from his youth with current landscapes, questioning the veracity of his connection to these places.
Kaylee Gorman is a photographic artist working with pinhole cameras to revisit the landscapes of her childhood. She believes that engagement with a location means that the conscious and the subconscious merge and the phenomenology of a landscape is altered.
The second part of my review will be posted soon. In the meantime, don’t forget to follow me on instagram if you want an instant peek into my top picks from the graduate shows. Read my first review from the graduate photography shows here.
Tags:
2013, Adriana Mitrus, Anna Thompson, Beverley Handforth, David Alexander Smith, Dr Walter Verbogden, Falmouth University, Free Range Art and Design Show, Gaol, Gemma Pepper, graduate, India Pocock, instagram, Jonny Boxall, Josh Kemp-Smith, Kaylee Gorman, Liza Campion, Madeleine Kimberley, Megan Roberts, Metropolis, Migration, phenomenology, photography, review, Swansea Metropolitan University, The Galleries of Justice, Truman Brewery, UCLan, University of Central Lancashire, University of Derby, University of Northampton, Vantage, Wayne Daniel
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